


Your Heart On Your Sleeve

by flowerfan



Series: Glee Season 2 Reaction Fics [7]
Category: Glee
Genre: 2x18 reaction fic, Born This Way, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-12
Updated: 2014-07-12
Packaged: 2018-02-08 13:07:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1942311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flowerfan/pseuds/flowerfan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>2x18 (Born This Way) reaction fic.  Kurt shows Blaine his "Likes Boys" shirt and wonders what Blaine would write on his.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Your Heart On Your Sleeve

"And even after our spectacular _Barbra Streisand_ number at the mall, Rachel is still thinking about getting a nose job. I'm really disappointed in her." Kurt was changing his clothes while Blaine sat on the edge of Kurt's bed, Blaine’s hand obediently covering his eyes.

"Really? It doesn't seem so awful to me." Blaine said.

Kurt pulled his t-shirt on. "Are you serious?"

"Um, yeah? If it makes her feel better about herself, maybe it would be a good thing for her. It doesn't seem very different than dieting or working out to change the way your body looks."

Kurt considered this. He himself had been known to watch his weight - skinny jeans were not very forgiving, and he liked the way he looked when his tightest ones fit just right. "But she should love herself the way she is."

"I think that's easier said than done. And in the end, it's her choice, right?" Blaine squirmed on the bed, switching the hand over his eyes. "Can I open my eyes yet?"

Kurt turned to Blaine from where he had been checking his hair in the mirror; he had it swooped up particularly high for maximum effect. "Sorry." He struck a pose. "Okay, you can look." He had told Blaine a little bit about the Glee Club's lesson for the week and some of the other kids' shirts, but he hadn't told him what was going to be written on his. "Likes Boys" had seemed like the obvious choice, but it was still making him a little nervous.

Kurt stood tall and tried to think super confident Lady Gaga thoughts as Blaine blinked his eyes open and gazed at him. "Wow, Kurt, you look great."

Kurt felt himself blush. "Thank you, but I was kind of hoping to know what you thought about what's on the shirt."

Blaine grinned and reached out for Kurt's hand, pulling him closer. "I approve."

"You dork." Kurt was standing between Blaine's legs, and the proximity of Blaine's body to his was making him warm all over.

Blaine dragged a finger over the words on the shirt and then smiled up at Kurt, his long eyelashes fluttering. "Any particular boy you had in mind?"

Kurt laughed. "What, you would rather my shirt say 'Likes Blaine'?" 

Blaine smiled and pulled at Kurt until he landed next to him on the bed, rather awkwardly falling over Blaine's leg. "Maybe." Blaine ran his hand up to Kurt's jaw and leaned in for a brief kiss. "I just don't want anyone else at that school getting the wrong idea."

"Somehow I don't think the wrong idea they'd get is that I'm available." Kurt said wryly. More like now any remaining person who hadn't realized he was gay would know, for better or for worse. "Anyway, the point was that we were supposed to put something on our shirts about us that we are ashamed of, or would like to change - and while 'likes boys' doesn't really fit, 'likes Blaine' definitely doesn't." Kurt folded a leg up under himself and scooted closer to Blaine. "Because there's nothing I would change about liking you."

Blaine beamed. "Well, when you put it that way, I see your point." He pressed his lips to Kurt's, and Kurt brought a hand around to Blaine's neck, stroking gently with his thumb as they kissed. Kurt's knee bumped against Blaine's thigh, and Kurt froze, then figured this wasn't particularly racy. He and Blaine hadn't progressed past kissing, and this was fine by him, although he was starting to let himself imagine what might come next. But they were supposed to have dinner with his dad and Carole in a little while, so now was not the time to expand their repertoire. 

They pulled apart, both a little flushed. Kurt thought he would never get tired of the shy smile on Blaine's face that often followed a kiss. Blaine was so open with him in these moments, so incredibly beautiful. He made himself stop staring and tried to focus on the task at hand. "I, um, should take this off before we eat dinner," he said, waving vaguely at his shirt and standing up.

"Of course, Kurt." Blaine blinked innocently at him. "Do I need to close my eyes again, or was that just for the element of surprise?"

Kurt didn't really have an answer for this. Blaine had never seen him with his shirt off, and he wasn't really prepared for that to happen right now. Luckily Blaine seemed to immediately recognize his dilemma, and twisted around. "It's okay, Kurt, I won't look."

Embarrassed despite Blaine's understanding, Kurt quickly traded the printed t-shirt for a plain undershirt, and then added the sweater he had been wearing earlier. He sat back down on the bed next to Blaine. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I feel like this."

Blaine turned back to Kurt, a look of concern on his face. "Don't be sorry. You don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with."

"Thanks." Kurt looked down at his knees, wondering why this was so hard. He knew Blaine cared about him, and intellectually he knew Blaine found him attractive. But when he looked at himself in the mirror, mostly what he saw was a pasty, skinny kid - one with great fashion sense, of course, but underneath the carefully selected clothes, not so much to look at.

"Really, Kurt, it's all right." Blaine tentatively reached out to stroke Kurt's shoulder, and Kurt leaned into him. Blaine turned his head, nuzzling against Kurt's ear in a way that sent shivers down his spine, and ran his hand appreciatively over Kurt's bicep. "Although you have nothing to worry about, you know,” Blaine said in a low voice. “You're gorgeous."

Kurt felt his heart skip a beat, and knew he was blushing all the way out to his ears. "Thank you." He sat up, smiling at Blaine, still a little embarrassed but recovering quickly. "I guess Rachel isn't the only one who wishes that their body could be different."

Blaine took his hand, rubbing Kurt's palm with his thumb. "I'm pretty sure that's just a side effect of being a teenager."

Kurt saw Blaine's gaze flicker over to where he had laid his "Likes Boys" shirt out on his desk. "If you were singing with us tomorrow, what would you put on your shirt?" An anxious look passed fleetingly over Blaine's face, and Kurt wondered if the question was too personal. Before he could figure out how to take it back, Blaine replied.

"Perfectionist."

Without thinking, Kurt laughed. "Very funny. Like when you have to list your faults in an interview - 'sometimes I just work too hard, and I need everything to be just right,'" he said in a sing-song voice. But when Kurt glanced at Blaine's face he quickly realized Blaine hadn't been joking, and his stomach fell. "Shit, Blaine, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made fun.”

Blaine abruptly stood up, his arms crossed around his waist. "No, I get it. Whatever." Blaine moved away from Kurt, standing awkwardly by the window, shoulders tense and jaw set. There really wasn't anywhere to go in Kurt's room, although Blaine looked like he'd willingly hop on a passing train if one happened by.

Kurt slid off the bed and went to him, placing his hands on Blaine's shoulders and trying to catch his gaze. "Look, I'm an idiot. I'm clearly so convinced that you _are_ perfect that it's actually hard for me to believe there's something about yourself that you don't like. Which is crazy, I know, because everyone has things about themselves they don't like." Kind of the whole purpose of this week's Glee lesson, Kurt thought, which clearly he hadn't yet internalized. 

"See, that's just the problem," Blaine said tightly, his head turned away from Kurt despite Kurt’s hands on his shoulders. 

Kurt's heart clenched as he realized Blaine was trying not to cry. "What is?"

Blaine blinked hard and rubbed at his eyes. "What's going to happen when you realize I'm not perfect?" he said, his voice breaking.

Kurt felt ill, but he had gotten them into this, he had to help them find their way through it. It would have been easier if Blaine had just said he’d put "curly hair” on his shirt, a little voice in his head chirped unhelpfully. How could he convince Blaine not to worry about this? Because there was nothing Blaine could write on his shirt that would make Kurt change the way he felt about him.

"Come here," Kurt said firmly, taking Blaine by the hand and leading them back to the bed. When they sat down, Kurt took both of Blaine's hands in his. “Blaine?” Kurt waited until Blaine looked up. "Knowing you have insecurities just like an actual human being doesn't make you less perfect for me, okay? The more I get to know you, the more I like you," he said gently, barely substituting "like" for "love" in time. "Everything about you."

Blaine smiled weakly, but Kurt didn't think he really believed him. "Tell me about being a perfectionist," he said, hoping his face conveyed the sincerity he felt.

Blaine sighed and went to pull his hands out of Kurt's, but Kurt just tightened his hold and pulled Blaine closer until he could put an arm around him, their other hands still clasped. Blaine acquiesced, and leaned his head on Kurt's shoulder. "I set high expectations for myself," he began, sounding a little like he was reciting something he had been told. "I never feel like I'm doing well enough. I'm always worried about everything - every test, every performance. Even when things go well, I'm worried about the next time. Sometimes I avoid things completely because I'm so scared that I won't succeed."

Kurt swallowed hard, trying to find the right thing to say. He had no idea Blaine struggled so hard to excel, when everything he did seemed to come so easily to him. "Have you always felt this way?"

"To some extent, but I think it's gotten worse the past few years." Blaine shrugged and gave Kurt's hand a squeeze. "It's not that big a deal, really. Perfectionism can be a good thing or a bad thing, or a little of both. I'm used to it. I mean, 'Can't Dance' is clearly worse." They both laughed at the mention of Finn's shirt, and then Blaine turned serious again. "But if there was something about myself I could change, that would be it."

Kurt put his other arm around Blaine and hugged him tight against his chest, breathing into his hair. "I'm glad you told me." He squeezed his eyes shut, determined to say what he was thinking even if it sounded cheesy as hell. "It makes me feel closer to you. And, Blaine? Don't think you need to change for me. I like you just the way you are."

Blaine tensed, sniffling into Kurt's shoulder. "I like you just the way you are, too," Blaine said finally. As they held each other Kurt could feel Blaine slowly relax against him, his fists gripping at the back of his sweater unclenching and turning to rhythmic strokes along his shoulder blades. Kurt was almost giddy with the realization that he could be this person for Blaine, that he could make Blaine feel better with his touch. After a few minutes Blaine sat up with a deep breath, a genuine smile tugging at his mouth. "We should learn the Billy Joel song. It would make a great duet. I can already play it on the piano."

Later that night, as Blaine washed the dinner dishes and Kurt dried, Kurt noticed Blaine humming a familiar tune. "You were serious, weren't you?" 

Blaine put down the last pan and dried his hands, then wrapped his arms around Kurt from behind. "I want to remember the moment I knew my boyfriend liked me for me," he said softly. Kurt turned in Blaine’s arms to face him, lacing his hands around Blaine's neck as Blaine's hands settled around his waist. "Don't go changing, to try and please me," Blaine began singing, his face open and earnest. "You've never let me down before."

"Don't imagine you're too familiar, and I don't see you anymore," Kurt joined in. And as they sang and danced around the kitchen, Kurt's heart fluttered with anticipation as they approached the last chorus. "I said I love you, and that's forever." Kurt begged his voice not to shake, watching Blaine's expression intently. To his delight, he realized Blaine didn't have his show face on - instead, his eyes were practically glowing, his whole self open and trusting, and focused like a laser on Kurt. With a rush of excitement, Kurt knew in his heart that Blaine meant what he was singing, just as Kurt did, even if neither of them were ready to say it yet outside of song - "I love you just the way you are."

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I skipped writing a reaction fic for 2x17, Night of Neglect. Nothing jumped out at me although I may go back to it.
> 
> "Just the Way You Are" is, of course, by Billy Joel, and is sung by Kurt, Blaine, Rachel and Santana to Sam in season 5; my headcanon is that they learned it here, and would thereafter sing it to each other whenever necessary.
> 
> Additional trivia - "wear my heart upon my sleeve" is from Shakespeare's Othello.


End file.
